It's Coming!

Summer 2010!

So, summer is my favorite time of the year and I am excited that it is just around the corner! We don't have a lot of set plans, yet (my wonderful husband considers “plan” a bad 4 letter word. Ha!). But, we have set plans to meet up with one my best friends, Tara, and her family in Yellowstone in August. I'm so looking forward to that! I think we're going to make a week of it and stay up in that area for a week and do some hiking and camping and just relaxing.

Then there's the standard summer fun like barbeques, hiking, fishing, etc. Ryan got a new grill and now that we have a patio and nicely finished yard it will be fun to have people over for get togethers just hanging out in the fun summer weather. I would love to do more hiking too. And of course, there will be fishing, lots of fishing I'm sure. I'm looking forward to going to the park on Sunday afternoons and tossing around a frisbee or softball. I'm looking forward to eating dinner outside on our new patio dining set. I'm looking forward to picking fresh vegetables out of our garden. I'm looking forward to planting pretty flowers. I'm looking forward to sitting outside in the sun reading a book on my Fridays off. It's almost like the options in summer are endless. I could take the dogs for a walk. Go for a bike ride. Go for a motorcycle ride. Anything!

This will be the best summer yet!

Thoughts on 6 Months

So, last Friday was our six month anniversary. I know in the grand scheme of things and the lifetime that we live and for the many of you who have been together for years, this isn’t a significant amount of time, but for me it was huge. For a person who thinks that perhaps there isn’t someone out there who will love her unconditionally and intimately and commit to doing that for life, it is big. I am still amazed at it all! I wake up everyday feeling blessed. And I hope that as we gradually move out of the “newlywed” phase that this won’t go away. In fact, I hope that that phase never goes away. Although, I’m sure it will, but there will be many amazing phases to come. I love Ryan more and more each day! I have enjoyed being married to him and getting to know him more closely and intimately. And he loves me, too! He really does. And for all of this I am beyond thankful! I look forward to the day when we mark one year as husband and wife and for every year after that.

The Best Parents In The World

My dad posted on my facebook a couple of weeks back what a pleasure the last 32 years had been being my dad. Well, in turn, I thought I would let my parents (and the rest of the world) know how amazing I think they are. Something I've been meaning to do for a long time anyway.

I'm sure a lot of people think that they have the best parents in the world, while others feel like maybe they got jipped (not sure how to spell that). Fortunately, I have been blessed to be on the good end thinking (or actually knowing) that I DO have the best parents in the world. While they weren't perfect, they did an amazing job raising my brother and I.

They were (and still are) great examples to us of living godly lives, making God a priority, sharing the Good News, and much more. We were always taken care of and loved beyond belief.

This is my thanks to them. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for taking care of me. Thank you for providing for me. Thank you for taking me to church. Thank you for sending me to a Christian school despite the sacrifice. Thank you for teaching me God's Word and His plan of salvation. Thank you for taking us to Disneyland. Thank you for always being there. Thank you for listening and giving advice. Thank you for your support in everything I've done. Thank you for being great parents and thank you for becoming my friends as I've grown older.

I love you!

Not A New Years Resolution

but...
It's just time. Time for a lot of things.

Time to make my relationship with God a priority. Time to spend more time with my God. Time to get into His Word. Time to know Him more, not just know more about Him.

Time to quit eating poorly. Time to get my butt in gear and do something. Time to kick the Diet Coke habit (again). Time to fill up on water. Time to be healthy. Time to use the Wii Fit that Ryan got me for Christmas. Time to be active.

It's time.

2009....

Meeting Ryan...Getting laid off...Looking for work...Playing in Hawaii...Getting a new job...Moving to Roosevelt...Getting married... A new nephew....Wow, what a year!

2009 was a year of a lot of changes! Little did I know what God had in store for me!

January started off well with meeting a new man, a man that would eventually become my husband. :) At the time, it was just an exciting new relationship and I had no idea where it would lead. All I knew was I liked him and I was pretty sure he liked me, too. :)

Then midway through January I was laid off from my job at the church and I was devastated. I really liked my job and thought I would be there for a long time. I had built strong, close relationships with my co-workers who were also my friends. It was difficult to say the least. But, there was a bigger plan taking shape that I had no idea was happening.

Thus began the search for a new job. As most people who haven't lost their jobs, I had no idea before the search began just how difficult it would be. Yes, I knew that the economy was down, but thought I'd find a job within a couple months. That didn't happen. I looked and I sent my resume to place after place, most of which I never heard from. Reality hit a little harder in March when I finally had an interview and they mentioned that they had received 260 resumes in 2 days for that one position. I didn't get that job, but felt pretty good that I even got an interview out of all those who applied. In April I thought I had landed a job through a connection at a good company. It seemed certain. Yet again, a bigger plan was forming and that didn't come to pass either.

About this time, after talking with Ryan I started looking for jobs in both Salt Lake and Roosevelt, which is where Ryan lived. Still a few more months went by with putting in resume after resume. My search eventually morphed into searching in Roosevelt alone (unknown to anyone else). I was having a bit more luck in Roosevelt with at least getting interviews. Still none came to pass.

All the while I was spending more and more of my time in Roosevelt, actually about 75% of the time I was there. Only going “home” if there was a reason such as Mother's Day or other events.

In July, I got a few more hits on jobs with 4 interviews in just a couple short days, all in Roosevelt and all good options. On July 9th I accepted a job at the Utah Department of Workforce Services in Roosevelt and started on July 20th. Yeah, I finally had a job and the plan was beginning to appear.

I moved to Roosevelt not really knowing what was going to happen next, but I knew that I had been lead there, it wasn't my doing. So, no matter what happened, I was where I was supposed to be. So, here I was living in Ryan's spare room, not sure what he was thinking about our future for sure, but also knowing that we couldn't really live together on a long term basis. I tried to get a feel for things, but Ryan was pretty good at not letting on to what he was thinking. I decided that if we weren't going to get married in the near future that I needed to find somewhere else to live. It was hard being “roommates” and behaving. :)

Then on August 26th, Ryan asked me to marry him!!! I was in total shock because he had not ever once specifically mentioned getting married (I was sure that's where it was going, but not anywhere in the near future). I said “Yes” followed by “Really?” cause it was so unexpected. Given our circumstances we decided to get married soon, in fact, exactly one month later on September 26th we were married in what is now our backyard. It was beautiful and amazing and I can't believe that I am married....married to the man that I waited a long time for and whom I am glad that I waited for. He is amazing!

But more than that, God is amazing in how His plan played out...the good coming out of the bad. Losing my job and not finding a new one for 6 months gave me the opportunity to spend a lot of time in Roosevelt with Ryan getting to know him better than had I not had all that free time.

And there is still more good news from 2009...my first nephew (aside from the 7 I inherited upon being married) was born! Jensen Keith Tall was born on November 1st to my brother, John, and his wife, Stacey. Congrats big bro!

Another highlight of 2009 was the 10 days that I spent in Hawaii in March with two of my best friends. We had so much fun playing in the sun and catching up with each other. The trip included snorkeling, rented convertible, camping, sunset atop Haleakala, kayaking, close encounters with whales, and of course relaxing on the beach. A fun, warm getaway with good company was just what I needed at that time.

2009 was a full and fun year with ups and downs. I could never have imagined where I would be and what I would be doing at the end of this year, but it's better than I could have ever dreamed!

All glory goes to God for what He has done in my life!

Just Married

"Life is good, actually great! I love being married to Ryan...he is amazing! It has been a fun journey so far learning how to live with another person. After so many years of it only being me, it's exciting and challenging at times to have another person to consider. But, I'm so thankful that I'm on that journey with Ryan. :) I would never have imagined at the beginning of the year where I would be now. Although, if I look back at my blog, I blogged about this being a fantastic year...that was just a few days before I was laid off. It's amazing to see how each piece fell into place in God's perfect timing. I love it!"

This is what I wrote to a friend of mine yesterday when she asked how life is and being married. I've been trying to put my thoughts into words to post on my blog and they just weren't coming, but this is a very good summary that expresses it simply.

With A Smile On My Face

Ryan and I were driving in the mountains on Sunday, just enjoying the beauty and somehow my mind had wandered (ok, it does that a lot and I don't know how to shut it off most of the time.). Apparently, I had this look on my face like I was really thinking about something. I think I had a smile on my face. I noticed that he looked over a few times and then he finally asked what I was thinking. My smile got bigger and I chuckled a bit and just said, “Life is funny. Sometimes it hits me that I live in Roosevelt, Utah.”

It's funny how God works. A year ago, I would never in a million years have imagined that I would be where I am today. I was happy working at the church, hanging out with friends, and spending time with my family...just living life. Little did I know that in January I would be laid off from my job and wondering what was next. Little did I know, that in God's perfect timing, He had put Ryan into my life only 2 short weeks before that lay off. And so, now, here I am 7 months later, living in Roosevelt, Utah (don't worry, I had to look it up on a map, too :) ), dating the amazing Ryan, and working for the state of Utah helping others who have been laid off or who are in financial need.

Life is funny, life is good, and life is definitely unpredictable. I love my God and I love how He works!

Ten Days in Paradise

I spent 10 glorious days on Maui in March! The weather was perfect and the company was wonderful! It has been 9 months since I saw Tara and 3 years since I’d hung out with Elyssa, so we made the most of it. The three of us had a ton of fun playing on the beach, watching whales, snorkeling, kayaking, cruising around in our convertible, camping, hiking, watching sunsets, etc.

We had to stop and take a picture next to the beautiful Hibiscus flowers!

The beautiful red sand beach

The end of the hike...Wailua Falls

Our ride for the trip to Hana...hot, hot, hot! :)

Cold in Hawaii?? Yep, here we are at the top of Haleakala at 10,000 feet.

Haleakala Crater

Sunset from atop Haleakala

Enjoying our Lava Flows! Yum!

Sunset at Kaanapali Beach

Rainbow at Kaanapali Beach

The kayak trip to watch the whales close up

Kamaole Beach. We spent a lot of time here...just a five minute walk from Aaron and Tara's.

Would I Have Believed?

This past weekend I watched the “Jesus of Nazareth” movie, which is about Jesus’ life from birth to death. It is an excellent movie that makes all the things that I’ve read in the Bible come to life in a more real way. It is an excellent movie and I highly recommend it. Just make sure you have the time to sit down and watch it…it’s over 6 hours.

Anyway, with last Sunday being Easter and having watched this movie, I’ve been thinking and the question that keeps coming to my mind is, “Would I have believed Jesus?” I wonder, if I was alive during that time and I saw Jesus up close and personal, would I have believed what He said about who He was/is? Or would I have been like most people and rejected Him? I’ve always thought that I would believe. After all, how could you not if you saw it firsthand. Now, I’m not so sure. How would it have been to know Jesus from His birth and to watch Him grow up? Would I believe that He was the Son of God? Would I believe Him when I saw Him born as a human? Would I have been blinded to all the prophecies that He fulfilled? Would I have seen Him as the Messiah? Or would I have been looking for what the others were looking for?

I believe now that He is who He says He is and that He is the Messiah and Redeemer. I know that it’s true. But, would I have believed it then? I’ve just been thinking about it in a different way after watching His life portrayed on screen. Would I have believed?

The important thing is that I believe now! I’m just curious.

A List

So, I realized that I haven't blogged in almost two months. Apparently, I am not a very good blogger. I go through phases where I like to write and others where I don't. Anyway, I'm a list person. I like lists - to do lists, packing lists, project lists, any kind of list. So, I thought I would make this post a list of the last couple months. I think I'll go against my nature and go from the most recent and move backwards. I guess that isn't as much against my nature as it would be to list them all in a totally random order. Maybe next time.

• Tomorrow, I leave for Hawaii for 10 days! Not only will I be in Hawaii for 1o days, but I will be hanging out with two of my best friends.
  
• Last weekend, Ryan and I went to Moab, which was a blast! We visited Dead Horse Point and Canyonlands. I'd never been to Canyonlands and had only been to Dead Horse Point when I was really young. We had a great time hiking around in the sun.

• Allison was in town last week and we hung out a few times. I've literally know Allison my entire life, so it's always good to catch up. Oh, and she has the cutest baby ever! (I think I say that about all my friends' babies :))
  
• At the end of February, I spent 6 days in Roosevelt with Ryan and his family. Hung out with his sisters while he was at work and then he and I had a fun random weekend driving up to Flaming Gorge and to Fantasy Canyon. I don't think he got too sick of me while I was there. :)
  

• The rest of February and end of January was mostly hanging out with Ryan either here or in Roosevelt. (For those of you who don't know where Roosevelt is, it's about 2.5 hours from Salt Lake, near Vernal. For those of you don't know where Vernal is, look at a map. Ha ha.) I took Ryan to Ikea for the first time, so that was an adventure. Although, I have to say, I think he enjoyed the trip to Cabela's much more...we looked at a lot of fishing stuff. Who knew there was that much stuff just for fishing?
  
• Of course, encompassing the past few months has been the search for a job. It has been frustrating at times, but there are some benefits to being unemployed. Have to enjoy it while it lasts. :) I just didn't think that it would last this long. I know there are a lot of people looking for jobs, but it was put into perspective for me last week when I went to an interview and they said they had received 270 resumes for that one position. Yikes! Good news is that a job opportunity has come along in the past couple of days that could be promising. I know that no matter what, I'm good and I'm taken care of.

So, there it is...my life in a list.